When Vampires Attack
by bacchantes
Summary: Harry Potter's children, Lily and Albus, are home alone when a mysterious man called Harry Dresden, who claims to be a wizard too, tells them to run for their lives.
1. Home

Harry Potter crossover with The Dresden Files.

The clock on the wall was an unusual clock. It did not have two hands, rather it had five, each carrying the face of a member of the Potter family. It had been hard to obtain, but Ginny Weasley-Potter had been determined to follow her mother's example.

Lily Potter (junior, of course) was calmly reading a book when it happened. It was a Muggle book; they had proved to be of great fascination to her lately, as they were so very different to wizarding literature. Her parents were at work; her elder brother James was out with practicing Quidditch with his friends. Only Albus was at home, doing all his summer assignments even though the holidays had only just begun.

Lily glanced up from her book when the sudden flicker of movement caught her eye. The hands on the clock had changed. Two of them, the bespectacled image of her father and the flame haired image of her mother, shooting from working, to travelling, to mortal peril. She swore under her breath, staring expectantly at the hands, waiting for them to move. They didn't.

"ALBUS! GET DOWN HERE!" Lily bellowed, throwing her book down and glaring at the clock, her nose pressed against the glass casing.

"I'm busy studying, Lily!" he shouted back.

"GET. DOWN. HERE," she screamed. "I mean it, or I will come up there and hex you so hard-"

There was a clatter as textbooks fell from a desk, and the thundering of Albus sprinting full force down the stairs.

"Alright, I'm here, don't hex me!" he said, glaring at her tragically.

"Look," she said, jabbing her finger at the clock.

"Don't hit it so hard, Mum'll kill you if you break it," he said, peering at it. "Mortal peril? Huh. That happened before, you know, and that was fine. They just bumped into Uncle Vernon."

"Albus, he tried to lock Dad in his car and kidnap him."

"Yeah, well... that's the obese muggle for you. What do you expect me to do, anyway?"

Lily stared from the clock to Albus, and that's when another hand moved; James was now in mortal peril too.

"That's too much of a coincidence. I'm scared, Albus," Lily said.

"Don't be," he said, as the hands with their faces on them also crept from "home" to "mortal peril". Lily's eyes widened and Albus grabbed her elbow, convinced she was about to faint.

"There must be something wrong with it, Lily. We're not in mortal-"

The door burst open and Lily screamed shrilly, twisting free of Albus and lunging for the candleholder, wielding it aggressively at the mysterious figure who had entered.

"Lily and Albus Potter? Please, don't be alarmed," said the figure, coming towards them. His face was scruffy and his coat was unseasonable – a long, black, leather piece.

"Who the hell are you?" Lily demanded, still wielding the candle holder.

"My name is Harry Dresden," he said.

"You're not from here. You sound American. Who are you?" Albus asked.

"I'm a wizard, from Chicago. I help solve crimes. I'm here to protect you, I promise. I know you probably think you shouldn't trust me but honestly, what's coming for you now is so much worse than me. Smells much worse, too."

Albus and Lily stared at each other, wondering what to think of this strange man.

"Alright. Say we trust you for the next fifteen minutes. What do we do?" Albus said.

"Get the hell out of here. Don't take a thing, don't even bother locking the door because that damn thing isn't scared of wood or weak locks. Just run – don't run anywhere you think is safe, because it won't be. Nowhere will be safe."

Lily raised her eyebrows.

"You know what, I think we might take you up on that," Albus said, moving towards the back door. "Come on, Lily."

And so, they ran.


	2. Forest

Harry Potter/Harry Dresden Chapter Two

Lily and Albus ran for a long time, avoiding buildings and familiar places. Wordlessly, they decided on their destination – the forest. It was not a forest of any remark; this was no Forbidden Forest. However, it wasn't exactly a nice forest. Children were told to stay far away from it, and even adults were reluctant to enter. Mere feet into it and you were surrounded by a dense mass of trees. You get could genuinely lost within ten minutes – more than one person had died after disappearing in those long, gloomy trees.

They would not have stopped, but Albus tripped over a tree root. When he cried out, Lily turned round so quickly, and in mid run, that she was hit in the torso with jagged branches which pierced through her thin shirt and nipped her skin. As she hissed through her teeth, ripping the branch off the tree and throwing it away furiously, she noted her brother's sprawled form. He had flopped onto his back, in an attempt to stop his nose being broken, and looked like a dirty, scrawny star fish.

"Get up, Albus," Lily sighed, once she was certain that he was alright, if a little shame faced.

"Is it safe to stop running?" he panted, squirming onto his knees and pushing himself up. Although he was two years older than her -and would be sitting OWLs on his return to school – she was just a smidgen taller than him. It didn't matter how tall she was, however; she could still make him feel a mere three feet tall with a select few words or a mumble that sounded _remarkably _like a hex.

"I guess. At least, it shouldn't be able to find us, whatever it is."

"No. I don't think anyone will be able to find us," Albus said.

"Oh, shut up!" Lily snapped, lashing out and hitting Albus' temple. He grunted with the pain and clutched his head. Lily opened her mouth, contemplating an apology, but she dropped it. She could see he was acting it up, and the only reason he was doing _that _was to try and be in charge.

"Well, then, what are we supposed to do?" Albus asked.

"I have a plan," Lily said, pacing from one tree to another, then back.

"Really?" Albus asked hopefully.

"Yes. We sit on that fallen tree trunk and think of a plan," Lily said, pointing.

"Oh," Albus said, deflated. They sat down, and Albus sighed, staring up at the canopy of leaves.

"It's a bit gloomy. Did you bring your wand?"

"No, I left it in my room; I was worried about not getting hexed."

"Don't blame me!"

"I wasn't! Have you got yours?" Albus asked.

"Uh," Lily fumbled in her pockets. "OH! Yes, I do!"

"Good. Although it's typical that you're the one who can cast a few spells _without _a wand and I'm the one who doesn't have one," Albus said bitterly. Although Albus was the smarter of the three Potter children in terms of books, his sister was much more capable for the more hands on, real life magic that their father had been good at – not to mention their mother's skills at hexing.

"Well, you can probably use mine. I mean, it might not work _very _well, but it's still better than nothing, right?"

"Let me have a go, then?" Albus held out his hand. With a tiny sigh of reluctance, Lily placed it in his outstretched palm. He twirled it around his fingers, to which Lily groaned, and then pointed it at nothing in particular, carefully saying, "lumos". Instead of a beam of light emerging from the tip, however, a tiny ball of fire was spat out, floating in the air for a moment before plummeting into the dirt and extinguishing itself.

"Uh... at least it didn't hurt you?" Lily said, as Albus gave her back the wand, looking miserable.

"I guess I'll just need to rely on you to do all the magic," Albus said.

"Wait. We're not supposed to do magic outside of-"

"Lily, keep up. Since great uncle Arthur got promoted, they've changed the rules to allow the use of certain spells to minors. Survival spells, that kind of thing. Plus it means that schools can give us homework to learn spells over holidays. I thought you knew that?"

"We only left Hogwarts four days ago, Albus, and I haven't really been reading the news."

"I read it while we were still at school – it was about a week before term ended, actually, but they hadn't passed it all yet. They passed it all the day before we left, I think."

"Yeah, but unlike you, I don't read the Daily Prophet with my breakfast. I talk to my _friends_."

"I have friends!" Albus said, pouting with indignation.

"Not very many," muttered Lily. Just as Albus was about to argue back, a loud snap behind them made them both jump.

"Don't... panic," the voice said – that rough, American voice.

"Oh, it's you, the American investigator wizard," Lily said.

"Please, don't be too excited to see me after I kicked a vampire's butt to save yours."

Lily raised her eyebrows and folded her arms.

"Oh, you don't _believe_ me? Its lifeless corpse is a mere two minute walk from here – lucky for _you _that I intercepted it because boy, does it do a whole lot more than walk."

"You mean to say it was mere seconds away from us when you – killed it?" Albus asked.

Dresden breathed in, looking up for a moment before nodding emphatically. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I just said. Well done," he added sarcastically. Albus pouted again.

"But you can't just _kill_ someone! That's... it's... against the law!"

"Not when the law doesn't know you're here," Dresden said, tipping his head to the side in a, 'haha, I got you there' way.

"Now would be a good time for you to explain what's going on here, Mr Dresden," Lily said.

"All in good time, kiddo. Right now, that guy," Dresden said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "well, his buddy is following your smell and not only is he hungry, but he's pretty damn pissed that his buddy's dead."

"What – well – but – YOU killed him!" Lily stuttered.

"Like I already _told _you, if I hadn't you and your brother would be shrivelled up corpses, completely devoid of blood. Now, it's time for some more running, except this time, you're following _me_," Dresden said, breaking into a run.

"Hey, wait up – I want to know what's going on!" Lily shouted, sprinting after him, closely followed by Albus.


	3. Dresden

Harry Potter/Harry Dresden Chapter Three (POV H. Dresden)

You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Well, so am I.

Last night I was in bed with a beautiful woman. Last night, I was having a great time. And then this... this British wizard just popped into my bedroom. Well, I was stark naked and a little bit drunk, so you can understand why I... maybe, just _possibly _threw a wine bottle at him...? I mean, it didn't hit him! Well... hard...

That's not the point. This wizard – Longbottom, he said his name was... funny name, I know – he told me that he needed my help. Said that, he'd been on holiday here a few years ago and met a woman called Karrin, and she'd given him my name and number. Somehow, this Longbottom guy figured out where I lived, so he could... what was it he called it... "apparate"... into my apartment. Well, understandably, I was mildly furious and hugely confused.

"What the hell do you want with _me_?" I demanded. By this point, the beautiful woman had burrowed under the covers and her hand was emerging, patting the floor in search of her clothes, and then drawing them back in with her.

"I need your help. I already said that."

"Yeah? Why!"

"There are... creatures... who have some strange vengeance to seek with a very important family of wizards – the Potters."

"Never heard of 'em."

"Your wizarding community is... somewhat remote from ours. You Americans have always liked your independence, long before President Wilson refused to participate in the League. Anyway, that's not important. You, sir, happen to be a renowned investigator, and we need you to investigate these vampires and find out what they want with the Potters – namely the children. Also, we would like you to protect them, but it would be best if you remained... in the shadows. Do you understand?"

"Vaguely, but alcohol does that. Makes things fuzzaaaaay," I said, prodding my head. The bizarrely named wizard raised his eyebrows.

"You're going to need to come with me now, Mr Dresden. I can transport you within seconds, although you may, er – need to get dressed."

"Turn around and shut your peepers then," I said, leaning out of bed in search of my underwear. "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to want to take my staff?"

"It is urgent, sir. You must come straight away, or it may be too late."

"Dammnit... you Brits and your impatience... hey, you," I said, nudging my companion. "You, eh... you think you'll live without me?" She emerged ever so slightly and nodded.

"You'll be back, won't you?" she whispered.

"Yes," I said, and with a sideways glance at the Brit, "hopefully." She gulped, but that was all.

"Come, sir. Are you ready?"

"Keep your pants on, nearly," I said, reaching for my own pants and tugging them on. "I just need my duster," I said, grabbing it from the door handle and shrugging it on. "Okay, I'm ready. This better not hurt."

The wizard held out his arm and I took it. He twisted away, holding me in a painful grip, and suddenly I felt like I was being crushed by a giant fist, said fist squeezing and squeezing, increasing the pressure until...

Release. I opened my eyes to a barely rising sun coming over the field I was standing in.

"Where the hell am I?" I demanded.

"English countryside. It doesn't really matter where, because you still won't know where you are."

"True," I said, looking around and stretching. After that gruelling experience, it felt good to stretch. Ah, space!

"That's the house over there," Longbottom – haha – said, pointing to a speck in the distance.

"And you couldn't have zapped me to the front door, no? You have to dump me in the _middle of a field _and let me _walk_."

"It's complicated, Mr Dresden. Now is not the time to explain," he said, "you need to get over there and keep an eye on things. The vampires should not be hard to recognise – unlike the ones in Chicago, they aren't fussy with such trivial things as human appearances. They move very quickly, so you better run fast. The children's names are James – he is the eldest boy, and is very tall with shockingly dark hair – Albus and Lily. Their parents are Harry and Ginny. Now, I must depart but please, take care of them – I will be seeing you soon."

There was a tiny pop and he was gone.

"That's it. Dump me in a field, and then leave without telling me WHAT'S GOING ON!" I shouted. Which was pointless, because only the grass I was crushing could hear me... and, well, it's grass. Doesn't really do communication.

From there, I started to stroll – well, _I _wasn't in any hurry – towards the speck, and only when I saw a flash of darkness in the grass behind me did I start to hurry. The flash lingered, as if staking out it's surroundings. And – well, you know what happens next.


	4. Flying

Chapter Four, POV Lily Luna Potter

*

I'm not an athletic person (although I love to watch Quidditch, I'm a terrible player because I'm too violent; I tried out in every position last year, and when they tried me as a beater, I broke the bat and – via the bludger – the captain's nose) but I have stamina. I wasn't running any faster than Albus, but the American started to slow and soon, he stopped, panting against a tree. He looked at me, and saw I was breathing regularly, if a touch quicker than usual.

"I'm impressed," he said, "what's wrong with your brother?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Albus on his hands and knees, his body shaking.

"Retching, but he won't throw up. Excessive exercise does that to him."

"Oh," Dresden said, "that's... weird." I shrugged.

"Since we're stopped, care to tell me what's going on? I mean, you show up and suddenly vampires are-"

"We have to get away from here, except – I don't know how."

I looked at Albus, who got to his feet and started walking shakily towards us.

"I do," I said. "Albus! Is accio a survival spell?" He looked at the sky for a moment, and nodded.

"Accio? Huh?" Dresden asked.

"Accio Firebolt X! Accio Nimbus Orbit!" I said, flourishing my wand. Dresden stared at me, but I ignored him, watching the sky.

"Nothing's happening," Dresden said.

"Sh," I replied.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Just _wait_!"

There was a whoosh of air as the Firebolt plummeted towards me, coming to a sudden half a foot off the ground. It hummed quietly, an expectant little noise. Shortly, the Nimbus joined it, humming louder.

Dresden was, to say the least, gobsmacked.

"How old school," he said, eyeing the Firebolt with wonder. It was Dad's, of course; the Nimbus was Albus'. James had a Firebolt IX, but he broke it in Gryffindor's last Quidditch match of the year (against Slytherin – you'll never guess who won) and decided he would borrow my Firebolt VIII until he got a new broom.

"Albus, you take the Nimbus and I'll take the Firebolt, with Dresden. The weight would slow the Nimbus down too much."

"You, are going to fly _that_, with me on the back?" Dresden exclaimed.

"I'll have you know I've flown my brothers to St Mungo's many times. Since I was ten, actually."

"I will assume that means 'trust me, I'm good at this'?"

"She is," Albus said, gripping the Nimbus and swinging his leg over, "she's as good a flier as James, she just can't play Quidditch... although when I say she can't-"

"James? Quidditch? Oh, James is your brother. Where is he? And your parents for that matter?"

Albus was hovering expectantly over my head. I had already gotten on the Firebolt, but was waiting for Dresden.

"Just get on the broom. I'll answer your questions when we're in the air."

He was hesitant, but he climbed on behind mem.

"Hold onto something," I said, taking the broom up.

"Oh, I feel queasy," Dresden complained.

"This is nothing," I told him. We were twenty feet up, and Albus joined us.

"You lead," I said to Albus. He nodded, looking vigorously focused as he rose up and above the trees. I followed, but not before I saw a greyish blur with sparks of red emanating from it.

"Was that-"

"Yeah, the vampire," Dresden said, "don't worry, they can't fly and they're pretty rubbish at climbing. We're safe in the air."

"We can't stay in the air forever," I said.

"Hey, Albus! We need an easy route, to somewhere crowded. They don't attack in busy places," Dresden shouted. Albus nodded, letting us catch up before flying a little ahead.

"Will you tell me what's going on now?" I asked Dresden. He blew air up his face, making his unruly hair fan out.

"Some wizard just appeared in my apartment. Said his name was Longbottom."

"Neville apparated into your house?" I cried. "What did he say? Where is he now?"

"Neville? Apparated? He just said you needed me, and he somehow popped me into a field, sent me towards your house and popped away again. Didn't say where, just left."

"Neville Longbottom is a friend of our parents. Apparating is the proper term for what he did," I explained, "and no, we can't do that. You need to study and pass an exam."

"Like learning to drive," he said, "there's an age limit?"

"Unfortunately."

"At least we have these things. Where are the rest of your family? You need to answer my questions now."

"James was playing Quidditch with his friends and our parents were visiting – oh, no!"

I realised that if all of us were in mortal peril... so were the Weasleys.

"You... uh... FOCUS!" Dresden exclaimed. He leaned to the right, pulling the broom off course; we had been heading straight for a tree.

"I'm sorry. So you really don't have any idea what's going on?"

"No, your vampires are even different to the ones I know. The stuff I said about them will still apply, however."

We were dodging clouds now, and I could feel the tiny beads of moisture hitting my face, neck and hands. I took a quick look over my shoulder to check Dresden was alright; although he looked a bit green, his eyes were wide, alert.

As we dipped and rose, I realised where we were heading.

"London? Diagon Alley, I suppose?" I called. He didn't turn his head, but he nodded. "How are we supposed to fly over London?"

"We're not. I'm going to take us down on the out skirts and we can walk through."

"Walk? Through London? With brooms? If I'd known I would have summoned Dad's cloak."

"It's _fine, _I know how to get in where we won't be noticed. Plus, it's a week day, most people will be working."

"It's _also _the summer holidays, Al," I said.

"There's a spell we can use, I'm supposed to be learning it for Transfiguration... it's not a transfiguring spell, as such-"

"I'm not interested right now, Al. We're getting close. We ought to be descending."

We edged the brooms out of the sky and made a safe landing on the outskirts of a field; although Dresden, in attempting to get off the broom, fell unceremoniously onto the ground.

"No, no, I'm okay," he said, clambering upright and patting himself down. "Don't worry about me or anything."

"You're the responsible adult here. You're meant to be looking after _us_," I said.

"Well, you're half right... so where are we going? You said... Diagon Alley?"

"It's like the high street for British wizards. Humans can't get in. I, er... well, I don't know about you. I mean, you've probably never even heard of Vol-"

"No no no don't say it no!" Albus screamed.

"He's dead, Albus. He's been dead for twenty two years. It's not as if he's going to jump out of the ground and eat you," I said, glowering at him.

"Whatever," he said.

"Um. Yeah," Dresden said.

"Come on, let's go," I said. Albus and I carried the brooms, while Dresden followed, close behind.


	5. Stranger

Chapter Five Third person

The Leaky Cauldron was quiet that day. None of the few patrons gave the trio a second glance, but the dim dusty light hid how filthy they were. As soon as Lily's wand tapped the right brick and the wall folded itself away, and the bright sunshine shone on them, they realised how ragged they were.

"You would have us walk through bushes," Lily chided Dresden.

"It seemed like a good disguise for the brooms. At the time."

Dresden carried the brooms now, out of a bizarrely formed parental feeling which had emerged in him. As his eyes adjusted to the glittering light, he took in the wonderous sights of the alley.

"This is nothing like the alleys in Chicago..." Dresden muttered, looking into the colourful, welcoming window displays.

"It's not a normal alley," Lily said. "Come on, let's go."

"Go? Where?" Dresden looked confused.

"This is probably one of the safest places to go if you're hiding from someone. It's crowded, you see, and way at the far end, there's Gringotts bank. Second safest place on earth, after Hogwarts."

Albus looked like he was about to contradict her, but a stern look stopped him in his tracks.

"So... we're looking for...?"

"Anyone. Everyone. Whoever we can find," Lily said. They walked together, avoiding looking at their reflections as they peered into every shop, looking for a familiar face – although in Dresden's case, he was just full of wonder and partially aware of the attention that Lily and Albus drew. He could tell it wasn't because there were leaves poking out of the back of Lily's hair, or because Albus' trousers were torn in five places. It was recognition.

"Hey – hey – Lily?" Lily pivoted, stopping in front of what appeared to be an apothecary.

"Yeah?"

"How come... how come all these people keep _looking _at you?"

Lily's mouth curled into a wide smile.

"It's very complicated, Mr Dresden."

"You could say," Albus added, "that we're celebrities."

Lily's hand whipped out and connected with the back of Albus' head. He took the hint and said nothing else, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that Dresden was well aware of.

"You're famous? Or are your family?" Dresden asked. Lily shrugged, turning around and freezing. She leaned forward, squinting against the light, and then opened her mouth in a wide scream.

"HUGO!" was the scream that tore from her lips. A lean, floppy haired boy whipped his head up and waved enthusiastically, bounding over in that awkward way, like his limbs were growing too quickly for him. He threw his arms around Lily and crushed her face into his chest.

"Lily! And Albus! And..." the boy, Hugo, stopped on Dresden, carefully taking in his face with a cautious posture.

"I'm Harry Dresden, from Chicago," Dresden said, extending a hand. Hugo shook it reluctantly.

"What's going on, you guys? I went out into the garden to get rid of the gnomes, and when I went back inside the house, every one was gone – the furniture was strewn across the floor, paintings hung squint, the curtains torn..."

"Oh... oh..." Lily paled, clutching her face.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more, all I can guess is that they ran. I don't know where."

"Lily... Lily, look," Albus said. Lily ignored him, as did Hugo, contented with trying to console her.

"What's up, Al?" Dresden said. "And uh... who's he?"

"Our cousin. Hugo. And over there – that's someone we know. But she's not family... so to speak..."

The woman that Albus pointed to was both beautiful and weird. She had sleek blonde hair reaching her elbows, and blue robes with silver specks all over it. On her face, she wore glasses with rainbow coloured rims, that extended out from her face like rays of light from the sun. By now, after Dresden had stared at her in fascination, Lily turned round and saw the woman too.

"_Luna_?" Lily called. The blonde looked up, a tiny smile dancing across her lips.

"Lily, Albus and Hugo. How pleasant to see you. And... who is your friend?"

Dresden shut out the explanation of who he was. He was getting fed up of everyone knowing each other, and with him being the stranger. There was an exchange of information about the events, as Luna became informed.

"Listen. We might be safe, but your family isn't. Don't you want to _do _something?" Dresden asked, exasperated.

"He's right," Albus said. "I think we ought to go and find some books about vampires, then try to figure out why this is happening."

"Be careful, children... you don't know who has called for this. The situation could be more complex than any of you can possibly grasp."

Lily pouted ever so slightly, but accepted Albus' suggestion. Dresden followed them to what he assumed was a book store, barely noticing the flash of a white face in a black cloak, the dark eyes fixed on his back.


	6. Discoveries

CHAPTER SIX

Dresden sat in the corner with his back against one of the many shelves, his arms crossed, pouting. Lily had snapped at him to sit still and stop touching everything, after he'd thrown a book at her by mistake. Well, how was _he _supposed to know the pictures were _meant _to move?

"I think I've found something," Hugo said, handing an open book to Dresden. "Is that it?"

Dresden peered at the page, bracing himself for the image to move. But it didn't. It was a cloaked, hunched figure crouching in a corner, cradling something in its hands. Every now and then, the figure would shudder, but that was all.

"Maybe. It's hard to tell without seeing it properly. What does it say about it?" Dresden was too grumpy to read the minute script which preceded the image.

"The Norlaxia," Hugo read, "is a bizarre mixture of a vampire and a dementor. This was created by pure accident, when a vampire tried to cast a spell on the dementor and its genetics were transferred. It is unclear how these beasts breed, and little is known about them as they are so rare, and live a very secluded life. They have, however, been cited as the cause of numerous unexplained deaths in isolated areas."

Dresden stuck his bottom lip out, thinking. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Norlaxia. Dementor. What the hell is a dementor?"

Luna and Lily shuddered.

"Oh, they're absolutely foul," Lily said. "I'll get you a book about one, they could explain it better. Plus, I... don't really feel like talking about them."

"There was something about them in here," Albus said, handing her the book he had been looking at.

"Right then, there we are," Lily said, handing Dresden a book. There was no picture in this one, and he could actually read what it said without squinting.

THE DEMENTOR

The Dementor is a detestable being which relishes on sucking happiness from humans, causing depression and despair. They suck the human's soul out, leaving them simply a body which is alive, but cannot live. They are Dark creatures, associated with Voldemort when they abandoned their posts as Azkaban guards to join his ranks.

Dresden stopped reading, confused by unfamiliar names.

"These Dementors sound thoroughly pleasant, don't they?" he said, shivering. He liked his soul. He didn't want to lose it.

"Well, Dresden, do you think that's what we're dealing with? Norlaxia?" Lily asked.

"I can't say for certain, but it seems likely. It's nothing any of us have seen before, and it said it lived in isolation, attacked in isolated places. Just like your home, really. I just don't understand why it's hunting _you_," he said.

"There will always be dark magic, dark wizards, and dark creatures. This Norlaxia is a dark creature, so in theory, it is likely that a dark wizard is behind him. Dark creatures tend to require guidance," Luna said.

"Makes sense," Dresden added. "Why else would it hunt people so directly, unless it had been made to."

"That doesn't tell us who this dark wizard is," Hugo said. "There aren't exactly many of them these days."

"Ah, but that does not mean they do not exist," Luna said softly. "Come. I'm staying in the Leaky Cauldron. I'll book another room for Dresden and the boys. Lily, you can share with me, so long as you don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"No, I don't mind," Lily said sweetly. Dresden shook his head. It was clear that Lily adored the batty Luna; he simply couldn't understand why.

Dresden was traipsing after the youthful trio and the bouncing Luna, wishing he could go home. This was all so unreal, so _different_, and he couldn't cope with it anymore. These British wizards had different wands, they had wizarding schools, and there was an enormous community of them. He was the only wizard in Chicago. The _only _wizard.

Brightly clothed witches and wizards were bounding in and out of shops, staring at him with the kind of curiosity that comes with unfamiliar faces. They carried bizarre purchases; owls in brass cages, toads in glass boxes, baskets full of vivid potions and lotions, thick books with leather covers...

"So that... that pub we walked through," Dresden said, "there's a hotel above it?"

"It's not really a hotel," Albus said. "More like an inn, I guess."

"It's not the Ritz," Lily added. Dresden was surprised she even knew what that was.

"Is it clean?" Dresden asked. "This inn?"

"Um..." Lily and Albus looked at each other.

"That'll be a no, then," he said, gulping.

"Well, it isn't outrageously filthy," Lily said.

"And it's decent enough really," Albus said.

"The sheets are clean," Hugo added.

"Okay, okay..." Dresden lifted his hands to shush them. "I just... I need something to drink and a lie down now."

"A drink? What type of drink? Butter beer?" Lily asked. They were nearing the wall that they had entered this strange street from now, and Luna was pulling out her wand.

"Butter... beer? What the hell is that?" Dresden asked. Hugo looked amused, and Lily shook her head.

"It's a drink. Never mind. Well, what do you drink?"

"Coke. Tell me you have Coke." Lily looked at him blankly. "Er... it's a brown drink... dark brown... with bubbles..."

"Take him out to a Muggle shop, won't you?" Luna said, as the bricks wrapped away from them. "I imagine it will be some Muggle drink."

"Muggle? I don't like the sound of that, what's a Muggle? Should I be insulted?"

"It's just our word for a non magic person. You know, someone who isn't a wizard," Albus said. "You're not a Muggle."

"But you just said that Coke was a Muggle drink. How come I've never heard of this word Muggle anyway?"

"Shut up, Dresden, and follow me," Lily said. "I hope you've got Muggle money."

"I'M NOT A MUGGLE!" Dresden shouted.

"What money do you have?" Albus whispered. Lily was almost out of the pub now, and Albus snuck after Dresden as he followed her with great reluctance.

"I don't have any money, I was in _bed_ when I got dragged here!" he shouted. People turned and stared at him.

"Sh! Come on... check your pockets?" Albus said. Dresden did, and fished out three very crumpled dollar bills, and one five dollar bill. "What's that? Is that pounds?"

"Pounds? No, it's dollars... oh, right, I get it. Because Muggles use normal money, and you... don't, I assume," Dresden said. Albus raised his eyes at the word 'normal'.

"It's not... oh, never mind. I don't think they'll take your money... hold on... yes, I've got a few Muggle coins... how much do you suppose that is?" Albus handed him five coins. Three of them were silver, the other two copper.

"This looks like a twenty... pence, is it? And these are fifties, I think – you can tell by the funny shape," Dresden said. "And this is just a one and a two."

"Oh, yes, I think I remember now. Do you think it will be enough?" Albus asked. Lily was inspecting a shop window, and waved at them violently.

"Yes... maybe... I don't know," Dresden shrugged to himself, closing his hand around the coins.

"Is this what you mean?" Lily was pointing to a logo on the shop's window.

"Yes, yes – please stop pointing, the people in the shop are staring at you," Dresden said through gritted teeth.

"Well, hurry up and get the thing then. We'll wait out here," Lily said, shoving Dresden in the door. He looked around, feeling awkward, until he saw a display case embellished with the Coca Cola logo. He inspected the tiny printed numbers underneath the cans and bottles, hissing through his teeth.

"You o'rite, son?" an elderly man asked. The man lacked an interesting quantity of teeth, but had a soft, pleasant face.

"I'm not sure if I've got enough," Dresden confessed.

"Ah, an America are you? Well, give us a look at what you have," the man said. Dresden opened his fist, and the man nodded. "Aye, you have enough for a bottle this size," he said, tapping a 500ml bottle of Coke.

"Oh... thank you. That should do me fine," Dresden said, picking up a bottle in his other hand.

"Nae worries, son," the man said, returning to his shopping. Dresden took the bottle to the counter and handed over his money, pleasantly surprised to receive some change. He pocketed it for now, took up his bottle and exited.

"About time," Lily said, marching away without so much as a glance in his direction.

"I wasn't there for that long," Dresden said indignantly.

"She doesn't like being out in the open like this," Albus whispered, keeping pace with Dresden, if with some effort. "It's odd for her. We're so known and recognised amongst our own, that she's uncomfortable being a complete stranger, surrounded by strangers."

"Right..." Dresden said, rolling his eyes. "I'm really, _really_ looking forward to going to bed."

"But it's only half past three," Albus exclaimed.

"It is to you. Plus, I need to be alone for a while."


End file.
